This disclosure relates to a lockout device for locking out a pipe flange connection during a lockout procedure.
Machines, equipment, and other systems often contain energy sources that can be potentially hazardous to workers if these energy sources are not properly controlled and maintained. These energy sources may be, as some non-limiting examples, electrical, mechanical, hydraulic, pneumatic, chemical, and/or thermal in nature.
In order to protect workers from these energy sources while using or maintaining the machines or equipment, proper lockout/tagout procedures and practices may be voluntarily adopted or may be required by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). What constitutes appropriate lockout/tagout practices and procedures will largely depend on the specific equipment. Lockout/tagout procedures and practices involve following pre-determined steps or operations in order to disable the machinery or equipment to prevent the release of potentially hazardous energy before the equipment is maintained or to ensure that, when the equipment is placed back into service, workers remain protected from the potentially hazardous energy.
As one example of a lockout procedure, a pipe flange connection may have a blind flange inserted therein to prevent fluid flow therethrough before a maintenance procedure is done on a fluid system downstream of the connection. This pipe flange connection can be locked out using a lockout device during the maintenance to ensure that no individual mistakenly removes the blind flange and resumes fluid flow while the maintenance procedure is being done. After the maintenance is completed, the lockout device can be removed from the pipe flange connection. The blind flange can then be removed from the pipe flange connection and fluid flow can resume.